show up first- first to market, first on the platform, first to hop on a trend. But most of the businesses that last weren’ t the first. They were the ones who found a way to be different.
Howard Schultz didn’ t invent coffee. He invented Starbucks by selling community, not caffeine. Sara Blakely didn’ t invent undergarments- she created Spanx by solving a personal discomfort with scissors and a relentless pitch. They weren’ t first. But they were unmistakable.
The truth is: you only need to be irreplaceable to a small group of people. Not to the whole world. And you do that by being deeply specific. When your voice feels tailor-made for someone’ s internal monologue, they don’ t want another option. They want YOU.
Let The Machines Assist, But Never Let Them Decide
Let’ s not pretend we’ re better than the tools. AI is useful. Incredibly so. It can speed up brainstorming. Summarize clunky research. Suggest smarter angles. But it cannot feel tension in a sentence. It cannot tell when something you’ ve written is too clean, too polite, too safe. Only you know that.
Taste is what separates a hundred-dollar dinner from a heat-and-serve tray. Taste is invisible. And AI has none. Use the tools. But don’ t give them the steering wheel. Use them like a jazz musician uses structure- to break it at just the right moment and surprise the room.
If you’ re not sweating, rewriting, deleting whole paragraphs, doubting yourself, and then landing on something electric... you’ re probably letting the tool write for you. And that’ s how you disappear.
Don’ t Chase Traffic. Create Tension
The most powerful thing you can give your audience isn ' t value. It ' s a problem they didn ' t know they had. Value is everywhere. Free PDFs. Templates. Swipe files. It’ s noise.
But tension- that thing that makes people tilt their head and say,“ Wait … what?”- that’ s what moves people. That’ s what builds loyalty. That’ s what makes someone stop the scroll and lean in.
You build tension by telling the truth others won’ t: Most branding advice is garbage; Funnels are killing your connection; You don’ t need more content. You need better questions! These aren’ t just hot takes. They’ re friction points. They tell the reader: You’ ve been walking one way. What if the real path is behind you? Tension creates curiosity. Curiosity leads to trust. Trust leads to transactions.
Monetize The Way You Think- Not Just What You Sell
Anyone can sell a product. A course. A service. But the truly enduring entrepreneurs sell their judgment. They build frameworks. Approaches. Lenses. They turn thinking into a product.
Why does this work? Because people don’ t just want solutions. They want to see the world differently. They want to borrow your eyes. Your instincts.
That’ s why Simon Sinek became a household name for saying,“ Start with Why.” It’ s not a complex idea. But it gave people language for something they’ d felt all along. When people start quoting you to explain themselves, you’ ve won.
Depth Is The New Growth Hack
There was a time when you needed to be everywhere. Now? The more places you are, the less people remember you. The era of being a mile wide and an inch deep is fading. Fast.
The creators and entrepreneurs winning today are the ones building depth. One podcast. One newsletter. One product. But doing it with obsession. With care. With something that actually makes people feel.
Kevin Kelly was right. You don’ t need a million followers. You need 1,000 true fans. But he left something out: You only get those 1,000 if you show up for them like they’ re your only audience. Not with mass content. But with messages that make them stop, breathe, and whisper:“ This is exactly what I needed today.”
Rest Is A Revenue Strategy
You want to hear something radical? Stillness is productive. Most of the breakthroughs you’ ll have in your business won’ t happen while staring at a screen. They’ ll happen in the shower. On a walk. In a fight. In silence.
But rest isn’ t just about creativity. It’ s about resistance. The system wants you burned out. It wants you pushing content daily. It wants you reactive, distracted, dependent on tools.
Every time you step back, you reclaim your agency. Every time you don’ t publish something you know isn’ t ready- you build trust. First with yourself. Then with your audience.
Build Slowly. With Teeth
Fast is fragile. You don’ t need to go viral this week. You need to last five years. That means asking better questions: Who will still care about this after the algorithm shifts? Would I still make this if no one liked it? Is this business one I’ d be proud to run in five years?
The fastest way to burn out is to succeed at building something you secretly resent. The ones who win long-term are the ones who build like they’ re planting oak trees. Not mushrooms.
You’ re Allowed To Be Realer Than The Market Expects
You don’ t need to talk like a brand. You don’ t need to“ position” everything. You don’ t need a slick funnel. You need a mirror, a compass, and a voice you can sleep next to at night. The real edge isn’ t speed, or scale, or reach. The real edge is * clarity *.
Clarity in what you believe. Clarity in who you serve. Clarity in how you show up- whether it’ s trending or not. Because the truth is … this market doesn’ t need more content. It needs more people who’ ve actually lived what they’ re teaching. People like you.
If you’ re brave enough to stay weird, go slow, go deep, and stay * human *- you won’ t just stand out. You’ ll be unforgettable.
Now What?
You could share this article. Great. But here’ s something better: Pick one truth that hit you in the ribs. Write about it. Build from it. Change something. Not tomorrow. NOW.
Because in a world that’ s moving at machine-speed, the most human thing you can do is pause … and create something that matters. We’ re waiting.
Jan Okonji is the founder, Business Growth Solutions and an entrepreneur with a passion for turning ideas into profitable businesses. He can be contacted for business support services and advice here, or through his email at: Info @ bizgrowth. club, or website: www. bizgrowth. club.